. what do you say? >>guest: with all respect to john mccain, that is crazy. if we have learned anything in 11 years since 9/11 we have had one case after another of trying to prop up governments that are islamist states that do not have our interests in common. they are not interested in pursuing the sail path as we are. to try to prop them up, we are thought going to bring these guys an empty we will not gem -- get them to abandon radical views and john mccain could look back at the past nine, ten, 11 years and all of the mistakes we have made. >>neil: always good to see you, sir, from washington, dc. the mug shot that congressman west hopes gives him a better shot. will it? that is ahead. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 let's talk about that 401(k) you picked up back in the '80s. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 like a lot of things, the market has changed, tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 and your plans probably have too. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 at charles schwab, we'll give you personalized recommendations tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 on how to reinvest that old 401(k). tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 so talk to chuck tdd#: 1-800

the administration so long with john mccain and lindsay graham issuing this statement. we recognize that al-qaeda involvement in the terrorist attack that killed four americans is an inconvenient truth for a president that claims to be destroying al-qaeda. but it's not too much to ask why the administration has taken so long to state what appeared obvious on what really happened on september 11th, 2012. we're a back with our panel. so given all that we've learned in the last couple of weeks. how big a security failure was that attack on the consulate? >> it was far bigger than this administration is willing to admit. we knew the security situation in benghazi was getting out of control. there were attack on the british consulate which was closed and there with a attacks on convoy and attacks on the u.s. consulate, too. there were reports out of benghazi. u.s. issued a statement in august warning americans not to travel there, telling them there is probably bombings and a assassinations. >> paul: we also know that they called for the revenge against the united states for a killing by

the campaign in 2008, at the first debate between john mccain andarack obama, wchashis dat f years ago, the focus was the war. in fact, both wars. >> do you, senator mccain, much has been said about the lessons of vietnam. what d you see as the lessons iraq? >> i tnk the lesf iraq are very clear that you cannot have a failed strategy. thanks to this great general david pa ttr,hey are succeeding and winning in iraq. >> whether we should have gone into the war in the first place. six years ago i stood up and opposed this war. we hadn't finished the job in afghanistan. we hadn't caught bin laden. we hadn't put al qaeda to rest. and as aconsnc i thought that it was going to be a distractio now, senator mccain and president bush had a very different judgment. >> so that was this date, 40 days out from the election in '0and 40 days out from the election in '04. in '04 the campaign was consume e of our wars. 40 days out from the election in '08, in the midst of the financial meltdown the campaign was consumed with both of the wars. now it's 2012 and we're 40 days out from the election thi

thought they had a shot at arizona if senator john mccain had not been on the top of the ticket. there is also a open senate seat in the state of arizona that is now in play. outgoing republican setor jon d lue. cld bturng the republican candidate for senate is congressman jeff flake. he leads democrat challenger richard carmona by only one point in a carmona campaign internal poll. pireicn keessman flake is a boehner's failing house of representatives. he wants to repeal obama care, the affordable care act, he's against same-sex marage, he's against a woman's light to choose, and the icing on the cake, he voted for pl ryan's, at se le cl,or budget that completely guts medicaid and dismantles the social safety net in america. his opponent, former george w. bush surgeon general, richard carma, is taking the opposite approach. >> it's reprehensible to think that the contract that we have oen tgh medicare or social security is going to be cut. that doesn't make any sense. these are not entitlements. these are, in fact, investments. so i think that'thwrong thinto d >> meanwhile, flake is tryi

john mccain by 18 points. 58% to 40%. this year, 27 states and washington, d.c., will have early in-person voting prior to election day. thmps estin early voting participation at around 40% this year. two out of every five ballots will be filled out before november 6th in this election cycle. today is truly the beginning of the end of the presidential election. ttosn akndidis in much advantage of the new voting in this dynamic thing we call american democracy. here's a look at mitt romney's field offices in iowa. the romney camp pass 12 outposts across the hawkeye ste. now take a look at president ams operation. e a ai has 66 of . these outpost offices. the president's campaign has a 5 1/2-1 advantage over mitt roey when it comes to operation in iowa. fed of presidential the campaigns. this is where campaigns stage the get out to vote efforts and organize volunteers. today, "the new york times" reported from polling places in iowa and found mostly outspoken obama supporters. pprs ooteathink that the romney as well? or are they more likely to show up on election day? >> i don't see t

before the election. in a letter to the office of management and budget, republican senator john mccain, kelly aott and lindsey graham say president obama put his own re-election ahead of the interest of working american. and obama administration is cynically trying to skirt the warn act to keep american people in dark about the looming national security and fiscal crisis. now other republicans are demanding the legal justif justification for the move. there is political uncertainty surrounding the cut and the pentagon says it's not even fully planning for them, preferring that congress reverse them. they say the automatic cut will be gradual. >> what would be affected is the awarding of new contract, or extension of contract or exercise of contract options in the months after sequestions ration. the key, though, is the timing. i would not happen immediately on january 2. it would happen in months and years that follow. >> defense contractors so far followed the administration guidance with lockheed martin announcing it will not move ahead with layoff notices before the election. bret? >> bret

. we get an interesting perspective on this from john mccain, he's debated both the president and mitt romney. he says we will see two very strong well-prepared debaters and he predicts few surprises. the president's behind closed doors in nevada for the next two days preparing to face mitt romney in denver wednesday. >> he's a good debater. i'm just okay. but what i'm most concerned about is having a serious discussion about what we need to do to keep the country growing. >> reporter: both sides are downplaying expectations. a senior aide to the president says romney will be prepared, disciplined and aggressive. romney's debate partner calls the president a tough debater. >> barack obama is going to be formidable, and i think it will be a good debate, but i certainly would not underestimate what barack obama brings to it. >> reporter: john kerry's playing romney with the president. in a weekend memo, republicans urged kerry to press the president on libya and syria. romney calls obama's foreign policy dangerous. romney's debate plan, clearly and concisely explain how he can fix the ec

senators that are saying farewell. see what he says about george w. bush and john mccain. this is "the daily rundown." i am chuck todd. let's get to the first reads of the morning. in the last two weeks, we polled in nine battleground states deciding the election. ohio, florida, virginia, colorado, iowa, wisconsin, north carolina, nevada, new hampshire. bad news for mitt romney, he doesn't lead in a single one. at best within the poll's margin of error. at worst, trails by eight points. this morning, how the nine states stack up. we said it again and again. the president's job approval rating may be the best indicator of where the bout may be. where it is more than 50, the president favored to win. iowa, florida, new hampshire, ohio, virginia, his approval rating below that, 47 or 48 in four. colorado, nevada, north carolina, wisconsin. here is a second way to breakdown the numbers. romney struggled with favorability number all year. that number underwater, more voters have unfavorable than favorable view in six states. romney is in positive territory in just three. florida, north

the white house. that's the main reason why john mccain and sarah palin underperformed in a lot of those places. and also, a lot of folks out there, a lot of folks in my family included, said, you know what, with i like john mccain, but i'm just not sure about sarah palin. i just don't believe that she's qualified to be president. obviously, governor romney does not that have scenario these days, but he has to overperform in areas that mccain underperformed in. >> we love to point the finger and blame when political races are lost. if governor romney loses this thing, come wednesday morning, who do they blame? >> well, i've got to look in the mirror and blame themselves. one, the campaign was ill prepared from the beginning. believe it or not, they didn't have an answer to the tax question. they didn't have a good answer to the bain capital question. and governor romney made stumble after stumble and it pains me to say that, because when we were governors together, i liked him and he helped me form late pennsylvania's health care plan, but he's just -- his performance has been almo

dead heat 46% 46%. on this day four years ago, rasmussen had mr. obama up by 5 points over john mccain. 50%, 45%. a case could be made that mitt romney is doing better than john mccain did. but that might be misleading. the presidential race is going to come down to just a handful of states ohio and florida being the most important governor romney plus win in both places that's why today's polling news is causing controversy. talking points has said from the very beginning that the debates this year will be the deciding factor one week from tonight in denver, colorado, the president will meet the governor at :00 p.m. eastern time. no question and all the polls show this that most americans are not happy with president obama's leadership, especially on the economy. many of the folks don't trust mitt romney. however, if the governor can do what ronald reagan did in 1980, that is keep the incumbent president on the defense during the debates, then the polls will surely change. that's not an easy thing to do because the debate formats allow the candidates to say pretty much whatever they want

through. you know, this was a point in 2008 when something similar happened with john mccain. he couldn't recall in an interview how many houses or properties he owned. that became a sort of explaining narrative for all sorts of reasons why, and this may sound familiar, why he seemed out of touch. this 47% video resonated to a greater degree than john mccain not remembering how many homes he owned. so, if you have failed at this point to explain who you are, if you have another version of that story out there, you cannot undo it in one debate. you can try and engage with people directly to camera, but mitt romney is also going to want to land some punches. that's going to take time away from his job, number one, which should be telling people, for once, who he really is. >> i think that may be intentional. john, this is how romney's running mate paul ryan addressed the 47% comment captured in that secret video yesterday. take a listen. >> is there any way possible that this 47% can pay a nominal fee or something so they feel that they have small ownership in the government and ma

thought of barak obama. show of hands. how many of you voted for john mccain in 2008? okay. minority of you. how many thought mitt romney won this debate in 2012, raise your hands? almost all of you. so give me a word or phrase to describe romney's performance today. >> showmanship, stage craft. >> noncommittal. >> principled. >> articulate and command of the facts. >> clearly passionate and definitive. >> mostly shallow. >> determined. >> articulate and energetic. >> passion and vibrant. >> demonstrated experience. >> in control. >> determined and optimistic. >> prepared and passionate. >> i thought insincere. >> well coached and prepared. >> vague and as usual. >> leadership. >> direct. >> knowledgeable, yet defensive. >> confident. >> political and nonspecific. >> decisive. >> energized. >> passionate with truth. >> what's the number one issue facing denver and colorado -- who here thinks it's jobs? okay. there is one moment when mitt romney looked at barak obama and said, you shouldn't be focusing on other issues. his priority is jobs. here is one of mitt romney's high points in

. ann coult yoer and larry the cable by and senenor john mccain. stay with us. when making soup. mmmm! [ female announcer ] the secret is swanson. follow the wings. mike rowe here at a ford tell me fiona, who's having a big tire event? your ford dealer. who has 11 major brands to choose from? your ford dealer. who's offering a rebate? your ford dealer. who has the low price tire guarantee... affording peace of mind to anyone who might be in the market for a new set of res? your ford dealer. i'm beginning to sense a pattern. buy four select tires, get a $60 rebate. use the ford service credit credit card, get $60 more. that's up to $120. where did you get that sweater vest? your ford dealer. >> gretchen: good morning, everyone. told is thursday, october 4, 2012. i'm gretchen carlson. i hope you're gonna have a great day. round one goes to mitt romney who hit the president where it hurts. on his record. >> $90 billion, like 50 years worth of breaks into solar and wind. i mean, i had a friend who said you don't just pick the winners and losers, you pick the losers. >> gretchen: was last

right now there is no agreement in the congress with the white house. >> senator john mccain estimates the price tag if sequestration happens and the pentagon needs to reimburse contractors for severance cost could be $4 billion. in a letter to defense secretary leon panetta, mccain says he plans to deny any transfer of money that could have been avoided by complying with the law. brett? >> bret: stay on it. thank you. brick shipyard workers clashed with police after they forced their way into the defense ministry compound. more austerity protest elsewhere in athens. rallies against proposals that would cut salaries and personnel. >>> one world leader plans on turning 60 in style. you simply will not believe al gore's excuse for president obama's performance at the debate. grapevine is next >> bret: now some fresh pickings from the political grapevine. we've looked at the presidential debate from a number of different angles since it ended. and so have the other networks, of course. as we told you earlier, pundits and polls seem to agree that president obama lost the debate to governor

spokesperson to john mccain. thank you for joug us. nancy i want to begin with you. for six months they said this campaign is a referendum on president obama's record. now you heard paul ryan saying in his interview with chris that it's about choice. do you see this as a shift in strategy for the romney campaign and if so, is that why? >> i think it's right and proper for both candidates to offer americans a clear vision of their path for the country. i think it's a natural evidence luilgs. any time an incumbent president running against a challenger there is component of that that is referendum, but now is the time where we've got a matter of weeks when people have to cast their votes. now is the time for each candidate to be crystal clear about the direction they would take our country. >> heather: alex us what do you think? >> i think they were energized by the romney-ryan team gets this. when you look at the choice that americans have, it's like mitt romney came straight out of central casting. he has a guy and talking about who is more in touch with the american people. i think the choi

2008. 55%. john mccain, 42%. but colorado switched back and forth, went to president obama 2004 to president bush in 2000 president bush. what is this place now and what is the biggest issue here for folks you hear? >> colorado is a huge bellwether in the intermountain west. it has been for a few cycles. it's a big bellwether for which way the state will go. not always a swing county. it was conservative going back ten years or so. new population in arapahoe county has changed things. folks are moving from other states in colorado. it has a little more liberal in the suburbs here. it's a pocketbook issues, the same thing that you hear in all the swing states. soccer moms and families. who worry about making the budget and holing on to their home. >> bret: both candidate, president and romney have been here a number of times. clearly the campaigns believe that this state is within both grasps. >> absolutely. you look at the amount of time that president obama has spent, be here a couple of days from now for the debate. romney, the same thing. you cannot go an hour without seeing thr

character assassination of president obama. does that sound like john mccain four years ago? >> it sounds like a huge, huge mistake on his part. the only poll that matters, of course, is on election day and i worked on campaigns before. you can't not look at polls. gretchen, for mitt romney to say that he's not going to directly go after the president when we see his record so dower and pathetic and knowing the media isn't covering any of this. his huge gaffe was not admitting we were attacked by al-qaeda and where was the media on this? the ohm person that can take the president to task is mitt romney. the pressure it on for denver. i'll be there for "the five," but he really has to bring it because the media won't do that. >> gretchen: ten seconds. >> i think the big x factor is extremely passionate voters on the republican side. i think romney has a slight edge there and a little bit on the foreign affairs side that andrea is talking about. if you look among senior, look on the economy, all those key issues right now are trending towards president obama in the voters' minds and

in trouble right now. that can all change on wednesday night. >>> coming up, senator john mccain joins us on set. also, senator chuck schumer, "new york times" columnist frank bruni and tom brokaw. >>> up next, mike allen up next with the top stories in the "politico playbook." first, bill karins with a check on the forecast. >> happy october, everyone. this is the month of change weatherwise, where we start to cool things off in a hurry and start to watch the leaves coming down. as we head through this month, expect a much cooler month than we've had in months past. we're looking at the middle of the country especially with below-average temperatures as we go throughout the first two weeks. now, as far as this morning goes, two big storms on the map. one has been plaguing northern new england all weekend long. the other one has been plaguing the deep south. they're both on the move today. and we are going to watch that rainy weather spreading. also severe storms are possible once again in alabama into georgia from atlanta to birmingham to montgomery, maybe even some isolated tornadoes

do what i thought was right. we always work together and from my perspective, being john mccain's wing man and colleague has been a very special experience, i'll put it that way. >> senator kyl, thanks very much. >> you bet. >>> a fuller 20 minute version of that interview, you should look at it, it will be posted on our facebook page and on the show website. it will be there by the weekend, i promise. >>> the political panel next. and political programming, this sunday on "meet the press," new jersey governor chris christie will be david gregory's guest. white house soup of the day. sweet potato. not sure it is a soup. be right back. om capital one, thor's couture gets the most rewards of any small business credit card. your boa! [ garth ] thor's small business earns double miles on every purchase, every day! ahh, the new fabrics, put it on my spark card. [ garth ] why settle for less? the spiked heels are working. wait! [ garth ] great businesses deserve the most rewards! [ male announcer ] the spark business card from capital one. choose unlimited rewards with double miles or 2% cas

is outraged. he's here and next. also you must hear what these two men are saying. senator john mccain and governogovernor chris christie. could the obama secret weapon be used against them? used against them? a new twist that will you have [ male announcer ] you are a business pro. governor of getting it done. you know how to dance... with a deadline. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle... and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. this is awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is, business pro. yes, it is. go national. go like a pro. droid does. and does it launch apps by voice while learning your voice ? launch cab4me. droid does. keep left at the fork. does it do turn-by-turn navigation ? droid does. with verizon, america's largest 4g lte network, and motorola, droid does. get $100 off select motorola 4g lte smartphones like the droid razr. >> greta: the white house is playing fast and loose with this one. the administration is telling companies to break the law. get this. the president

since john mccain four years ago while mitt romney had a couple dozen debates in those republic primaries earlier this year. the other thing going on you said the debate is a week from tonight. two days later we will get the september jobs report. so the economy going to remain front and center, shep. >> shepard: ed henry live, kent, ohio tonight. thanks. the romney camp also arguing that president obama himself has not called the recent assault on the u.s. consulate in benghazi, libya an act of terrorism. that attack killed four americans including the u.s. ambassador to libya. and now house republicans are turning up the pressure on the president to clear up the facts on what happened there. plus, andy williams has died. but he left behind decades of memorable television specials and hit songs. tonight, remembering that easy-going all-american singer. ♪ a shadow of your smile when you are gone. ♪ keys, keys, keys, keys, keys. ♪ well, he's not very handsome ♪ to look at [ sighs ] ♪ oh, he's shaggy ♪ and he eats like a hog [ male announcer ] the volkswagen jetta. ava

supported by jon kyl and john mccain. on for obama's health care law. flake's against obama's health care law. >> joining me now is dr. richard carmona, democratic candidate for senate in arizona and the former surgeon general of the united states. doctor, nice to meetyou. s gho he yo her oth i'll go right to it. health care is in your wheelhouse. you are the expert. he's going after you, your opponent's going aer you on obama care. but you have been critical of heal care in geral on both sides. isere do you stand on all o lls surgeon general, ed, i was very career, and i still feel the same way, as a physician, as a professor, when i responsibility for the nation's health. it was a real problem that our nation didn't have a system that provided access to health re for all, and we need a robust business plan to be able to support that. that's where i stand and i'll never waiver from the fact that i believe that every american should have access to a basic set of health care benefits. >> well, you've got a lot of senior citizens in the state of arizona. how do you play with them and i

his debate performance against john mccain and some others, and doing his level best to get under romney's skin and romney's just about what a tough debater portman is, on a number of cases, it's been portman's responsibility to try to irritate mitt romney or trip him up on the issues and he's played an important role on this and this debate is six segments, 15 minutes long east and the first three are about the economy and the fourth is obama care and health care reform. the fourth is on governoring and the 5th is role of government. all of these things will dominate the discussion, but romney is planning after this coming debate on wednesday, before the policy speech on the week before the vice-president debates, the attempts by the romney ryan campaign, to go beyond the economy and try to do the whole campaign contrast in the last four years. >> an exciting time for all the americans who said now, carl, they'll tune in more, leading up to the debate. thank you, campaign carl, good to see you. moving on now to president obama and his visit in the swing state of nevada tonight. t

last night. only 52.4 million watched then senator barack obama's showdown in 2008 with senator john mccain. ratings from last night also show that fox news channel's coverage dominated the cable news networks. well, new signs of a steady jobs market getting a nice boost to your 401(k) today. the labor department reports some 367,000 americans filed first time jobless claims last week that's up from the previous seven days. it's less of a spike than many first alert forecasters had predicted. and traders seemed to welcome that news. the dow soaring 8 will 1 points to close above 13500. the nasdaq gaining 14. the s&p up 10. gerri willis from the fox business network is live in our new york city newsroom. gerri, so what are analysts saying about today's jobs snubs? >> look, the claims have stabilized from july. analysts when they look at these numbers they say this isn't impressive given what we should be having for economic growth. tomorrow, of course, friday is going to be the big jobs day. those are the really key numbers. expect unemployment rate to go up to 8.2%. total number of j

. also you must hear what these two men are saying. senator john mccain and governogovernor chris christie. could the obama secret weapon be used against them? a new twist that will you have talking. stick around. nnouncer ] how do u make 70,000 trades a second... ♪ reach one customer at a time? ♪ or help doctors turn billions of bytes of shared information... ♪ into a fifth anniversary of remission? ♪ whatever your business challenge, dell has the technology and services to help you solve it. droid does. and does it launch apps by voice while learning your voice ? launch cab4me. droid does. keep left at the fork. does it do turn-by-turn navigation ? droid does. with verizon, america's largest 4g lte network, and motorola, droid does. get $100 off select motorola 4g lte smartphones like the droid razr. >> greta: the white house is playing fast and loose with this one. the administration is telling companies to break the law. get this. the president is putting you -- yes, you -- on hook to pay the legal bills for the businesses violating the law. here's the facts. sequestra

senator barack obama received fewer votes than senator john mccain on election day. but still won the state due to tally from early voting. this year, president obama could receive the same edge from early voting. and the iowa secretary of state's office says that democrats have a 5 to 1 advantage over republicans in the number of absentee ballots requested. now, though the state's republican party promises to close that advantage by election day, the candidates seem to have embraced early voting. both camps approximate put out ads that look and feel like closing arguments. here's president obama's. >> it's time for a new economic patriotism rooted in the belief that growing our economy begins with a strong, thriving middle class. read my plan. compare it to governor romney's and decide for yourself. >> and with a very different pitch, governor mitt romney. >> president obama and i both care about poor and middle class families. the difference is, my policies will make things better for them. we shouldn't measure compassion by how many people are on welfare. we should measure comp

protest. >> here is the thing about john mccain. >> judge jeanine: let's talk about obama. obama the president will not even use the word terror. he was before the united nations this week and gives a speech and talks about the hateful video six times and doesn't use the word terror. lit me finish the question. >> you know what -- >> in connection with the attack in benghazi. isn't that a little weak? >> but here is the thing. president obama he was president when we got bin laden. he has taken out the leadership of al-qaeda. >> judge jeanine: it doesent matter. he is admitting now that al-qaeda hit us in north africa. >> he is in campaign mode, everybody and he doesn't want by using the word terror it means we are not as safe as we were before 9/11 and he doesn't want to use it because he wants people to think we are still safe so he blames it on the film. how can you debate that? >> they talke talked about it n act of terror already. >> judge jeanine: why didn't he use the word terror at the united nations when talked about a hateful video? >> here is the thing what the republicans